Tensions: A Muslim woman wears a burka in France (file picture). Police were forced to break up a fight in a French clothing shop after a female lawyer ripped the Islamic veil off a woman

A female lawyer allegedly ripped another woman's burka off in a clothes shop - and told her to 'clear off to your own country'.

The 26-year-old Muslim convert said the 60-year-old lawyer made 'snide remarks' about her Islamic veil.

An argument followed during which the older woman is said to have ripped the veil off, before the Muslim woman allegedly punched her.

Both women were arrested.

The row happened in Trignac, near Nantes, France, as the country prepares to introduce a ban on the burka.

A police officer said: ‘The lawyer said she was not happy seeing a fellow shopper wearing a veil and wanted the ban introduced as soon as possible.’

At one point the lawyer, who was out with her daughter, is said to have likened the Muslim woman to Belphegor - a horror demon character well known to French television viewers.

The lawyer’s use of the name ‘Belphegor’ was particularly inflammatory, said police, because the demon was portrayed by classical writers as ‘Hell’s ambassador to France’.

Belphegor, who hates human beings, is usually portrayed as a monstrous demon with horns and pointed nails, but frequently disguises himself.

During a period in Paris, Belphegor was said to live with a group of vampires in the Louvre.

Police said the incident was still being investigated, and that charges could follow.

A spokesman for Trignac police said that ‘two complaints had been received’, with the Muslim woman accusing the lawyer of racial and religious assault. The latter, in turn, had accused her opponent of common assault.

The French parliament has adopted a formal motion declaring burkas and other forms of Islamic dress to be ‘an affront to the nation’s values'.